DID THE NHL DRAFT GIVE OTTAWA SOMEONE TO LOVE?
Here's hoping the Senators' latest No. 1 pick turns out to be a hero, not another zero
Tim Stützle has already set an NHL record, one likely never to be broken.
Who is the only player to be the subject of a Jeopardy! question without ever playing a single game?
Give the Ottawa Senators a fist bump. That was a brilliant stroke to have Alex Trebek handle the announcement of the team's top draft pick on Tuesday's sorting of incoming NHL players. One only hopes this isn't the highlight of Stützle's career.
(An 18-year-old playing in a German league, wait until he arrives in Ottawa and discovers he can't order a beer yet, have all his teammates over to his new pad or find a train running on time.)
The Sens' fun gesture was contrasted by the narration from our overly serious NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, who seems to have the special gift of making everyone around him feel nervous. (The fidgety kneading of the clasped fingers?)
There is, of course, a great deal of magical thinking about draft choices. Listening to the experts, one might have thought Stützle was Wayne Gretzky in the making until, in the light of day, a caveat is discovered from beat writer Bruce Garrioch:
“The Senators believe Stützle has the chance to suit up for the club next season.”
A chance? Has a chance to make a 30th place team? Maybe hold off on that giant “I Heart
88” tattoo you were planning for Christmas.
Senators fans are perhaps already cautious, if not jaded, about draft hype and “can't miss” prospects. I spent a little while on Wednesday refreshing the memory on the Alexandre Daigle saga. He was the overall No. 1 draft choice in 1993 and considered a foundation of the Sens' future.
Columnist Roy MacGregor wrote many wonderful pieces about the episode and, years later, there is still the urge to send the writer flowers for sheer survival of the train wreck.
“ALEXANDRE THE GREAT?” began one headline before draft day. “Without so much as a puck being dropped, Daigle's surname is already up there with Orr, Gretzky, Mario and Lindros.” Up there? Well, up somewhere. The Senators' other first-round draft failures are many, as are stories of our later-round gems, Daniel Alfredsson being the most famous (a sixth rounder). And so, it is obviously all a calculated gamble, particularly with young players who are not fully matured, physically or mentally, or maybe just aren't very good.
Sens GM Pierre Dorion called it a historic night for the franchise. He is not wrong. We have no players left from the 2017 roster, which seems a shocking impossibility, and so the reload is in full force.
The fans have had to part with big-hearted Boro, and our swaggering Erik, the complicated Bobby, the inscrutable Anderson, the ascending Stone, the much-loved Pageau, and the large collection of Mike/Matt/ Chris/Cody/Zak characters too numerous to mention.
(Oh, the pile of old jerseys!)
But the night was a milestone for another reason. It writes another page in the book of renewal, which is all the Sens have, the selling of patient hope.
Isn't the team's main job, and pardon the melodrama, to convince a fan base to fall in love all over again? This is the part of the “relationship” sorely lacking right now. By swapping so many players out, we've shipped out the club's personality.
They've made a good start with Chabot and Tkachuk (though young Brady's chippyness is not my cup of tea). But now what?
What little we know of young Stützle (once the sports world figures out how to spell his name) is promising. He has a wonderful smile, a charming accent and, even in a bow tie, looks as though he could skate through a brick wall.
Our second selection, Jake Sanderson, looked a little like a sleepy-eyed giant, but we're told he has a great shot and was probably the best defenceman available. From Montana. Big things expected from Big Sky Country, though he seems to be headed back to school.
The third first-rounder was one Ridly Greig, a Brandon, Manitoba player who seemed surrounded by half the town — including possibly his grandmother —
waiting to celebrate his good fortune at home. Starting to like him straight away.
“I think Ottawa's already having a great night,” declared Sportsnet analyst Brian Burke, better known for dishing “truculence” than slinging praise.
True enough. But a one-night stand or the beginning of a beautiful friendship?
We shall see. It is why, after all, we play the games.